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Tag Archives: Vinyl

I’ve been saying it for years: vinyl is the way to go and Millennials are finally catching on! Best Buy announced this week that its stores will stop selling CDs (compact discs) altogether this July 1. Meanwhile vinyl sales have been steadily rising over the last few years, becoming, once again, a high-demand item for music retailers who have been struggling to compete with digital streaming services and music downloaded from the Internet. According to The Guardian, vinyl sales saw a 53% increase between 2015 and 2016, the highest sales numbers for vinyl since 1991. Although vinyls have always been kept around by independent retailers like Half Price Books and local stores like Cheapo Records and Electric Fetus here in Minneapolis, retailers like Best Buy and Target have caught up with the trend. As some begin to drop CD sales, none seem to have any plans to stop selling vinyl. Continue reading →

Tonight fans of the legendary rock n roll band The Rolling Stones will get to see the band play at the Marcus Amphitheater Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI. The group was originally slated to appear in Chicago for their 2015 tour, but due to scheduling and location conflicts they had to move 90 minutes north to Milwaukee. That, however, didn’t stop iconic bluesman Buddy Guy, who just appeared at the Chicago Blues Fest, from opening for the group. Chicago fans will be making the trip this evening for the 8:00pm showtime. The show is part of the Stones’ Zip-Code Tour; they have thus far appeared in Pittsburgh, Nashville, Orlando, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Columbus, and still have dates set for Indianapolis, Kansas City, Detroit, and Buffalo. Rolling Stones fans can also catch the re-issue of their 1971 LP Sticky Fingers, featuring new unreleased material and studio out-takes, now available on iTunes, Spotify, Compact Disc or Vinyl. The album is regarded as one of the Rolling Stones best LPs, featuring songs like Brown Sugar and Wild Horses, and a cover photo that was originally conceived by iconic artist Andy Warhol; it is also the first album the Stones released to not feature founding member Brian Jones, who died in 1969 in his swimming pool shortly after being asked to leave the group due to his drug addiction, and subsequently the first LP to feature new member Mick Taylor on an entire album, and Mick Jagger playing acoustic and rhythm guitar. Pretty monumental for the Stones history, so be sure to check it out. Enjoy!

If I could have one thing on my Christmas wish list, I think this might be the one. Design/manufacturing company, mob, teamed up with the audio acoustic engineers at Margules, to make one aesthetically pleasing speaker-cabinet. Both companies, who are located in Mexico, have thought of everything for create this speaker. The top left shelf of the unit is built with a marble top supported by brass legs to stop vibrations, all complete with 370 watts.

As many already know, this Saturday is Record Store Day. For those who are unfamiliar with this, we can catch you up to speed. Record Store Day began in 2008 and will forever be held on the third Saturday of April every year. Essentially, the day is to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding the 1000+ independently owned Record Stores. On this day, there will be special Vinyl and CD releases sold exclusively. Many festivities usually occur on this day, including: meet & greets and live performances. In order to participate, a record store must be a stand alone retailer whose primary focus is 50% music retail. So, if you are looking for where to buy your records/cds at participating Record Stores, look no further.

The two OG producer/DJs just announced this breaking news, and it is the real deal. The two are arguably some of the best producers from recent history, and it is exciting to see what Pete Rock will bring to the table once again. While the two mentioned talks of this late in 2013, it sounds like the album is well in the works and plan to release it sometime in 2014.

The double feature album would be HUGE for hip hop as it would feature some of the best upcoming artists/veterans on the album. Hopefully it all unfolds for 2014 and we hear some history in the making.

Talib Kweli, lyrically has been one of the premier emcees around. The vet is releasing his latest album tonight, and it should be a few notches above his previous two. The album is produced by Ohno, Statik and Dilla as well. Gravitas, is also going to be independently released, which ideally would help for a more authentic Kweli album.